Azarak - .First , please give us a short bio of the band, or any information you would like readers to know.

Chad Remains – UZALA started in Spring of 2009 by Darcy and myself. She had a few songs she had been working on with acoustic guitar and we decided to pursue them as well as a bunch of riffs I had knocking about in my head at the time. The Reaping and Cataract came from our first rehearsal with electrics and vodka. We asked Stephen to join on drums and with him and a few itinerant bass players we put together the songs for the 2010 demo tape and cdr. Bass players came and went and then Nick (Phit, Graves at Sea) joined for a few gigs and to make the self titled LP. We recorded three more songs with Stephen on drums and he left after our first NorthWest tour. Chuck Watkins (Anon Remora, Ephemeros) has now joined us on drums and he will make his debut with us on our upcoming Western Lands Tour 2012 for three weeks and six thousand miles.

Az - The name of the band is taken from a Kurosawa Movie, you have chosen to cover Gloomy Sunday, the artwork of your album is made by you, from what I understand you are tattoo artists as well, and you have some clear influences from metal and non-metal bands. Is Uzala the mean to express all, or some, of your artistic and ideological interest?

CR – Darcy is the only tattoo artist in the band, but that’s good enough if you’ve seen what incredible art she makes. She and I run Chalice Tattoo Studio together, so I think that’s where the confusion has come from, but I don’t tattoo. And thank whatever slimy gods you worship that I don’t. The world would be a much uglier place. Darcy also did the cover art for the record and I did the lyrics sheet and all other handwriting. UZALA is simply another facet of our expression, although it is very dear to us and we hope to expand the frontiers of what UZALA means in recorded and visual form. We have no political aims or religious ideas, so for now creating UZALA songs and art is enough.

Az - Does any member of the band collects albums? Judging from your decision to allow the listeners to download the album from bandcamp, I guess you are familiar with the concept of free distribution. Nonetheless you have released both Lp and Cd, and have done a great work with the artwork. Does the digital formats, have altered the importance and concept of owning an album?

CR – All of us collect records, although I think none of us has a crazy collection. We just get what we can when we can. I do have some really killer pieces that I doubt I’ll ever part with though. To be quite honest, I don’t give a fuck about digital downloads, but I understand that for many people that is the way they purchase or acquire music – so we are happy to oblige them. I feel that music is best enjoyed on a great stereo system with a needle buried in a groove, but I am from a generation where that was normal – cd’s didn’t arrive on the scene until I was of the age of questioning. To me it is important to have a great looking record on a tangible format and to have the interaction between yourself and the medium. I love to pour a drink and sit on a leather couch with a lyrics sheet and read all of the liner notes and such. It is an immersive experience. If you can get into it with a couple of earbuds and a player smaller than a pack of smokes, so be it… the music is the reason to be in the band in the first place. Enjoy!

Az - Are there any plans to do an extended tour across the U.S.A. or maybe visit Europe?

CR – I mentioned briefly above that we are gearing up for our Western Lands Tour for three weeks in the US. Boise, Seattle, Portland, Salem, Arcata, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Las Cruces, Austin, Fort Worth, Texarkana, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Denver, and Salt Lake City. We are talking about doing an East Coast tour or maybe the South in the U.S. with another band, but nothing is written yet, so I won’t say too much. We would love to play Europe, of course, but it will require meticulous planning and to do the tour with another band would be very smart I think. I have been speaking with several bands and we are trying to make something killer happen. Time will tell it’s tale.

Az - You have made clear in interviews that you don’t want to be characterized by the fact that you have female vocalist/guitarist, be that as it may, there is a boom in bands that include both male and female members. In your opinion, why in metal, a traditionally ‘guys thing’, more and more women start getting involved?

CR – I’m not sure if the scene has become more accepting or if it is that women are more active in music now– either way, I’m all for it. I see more women attending gigs these days as well, which goes hand in hand.